Malmö-based startup Minut has raised oversubscribed $14M Series B funding. The round was led by Almaz Capital with the participation of Zenith, Kompas, Verve Ventures, Swiss Immo Lab alongside its existing investors including Karma, SOSV‘s HAX, and KPN Ventures. The company’s sensor powered by AI&ML enables enhancing the guest experience by monitoring noise, motion, occupancy, and temperature. The funding will boost the Swedish startup’s growth and help through its expansion on a global level.
Minut Raises Oversubscribed $14M Series B To Scale Its Rental Monitoring Solution That Makes Guests Good Neighbors
Minut is announcing today the closing of a $14 million series B round led by Almaz Capital with participation from Zenith, Kompas, Verve Ventures, Swiss Immo Lab. Previous funds Karma, SOSV’s HAX and KPN Ventures continue to fuel its rapid growth and global expansion.
The vacation and business rental industry that boomed over the past decade has suffered from growing pains. Those include noise, overcrowding and various damage that affected local communities and hosts. Unfortunately, standard home monitoring solutions using cameras are not acceptable in such an environment due to privacy concerns.
The Minut sensor monitors noise, occupancy, motion and temperature in vacation rental properties. The company sees itself in the role of a co-host, supporting hosts in preventing parties, enhancing guest experience and protecting their homes.
Minut has pioneered and patented its approach of sound analysis on the edge of the network. Thanks to machine learning and AI, with on-device computing capabilities, the Minut sensor can analyze the sound volume and events without streaming audio recordings to the cloud. This way, it provides accurate and timely data while respecting the privacy of guests.
“The rise of flexible working accelerated changes to how we live and travel. People want to experience the world like locals. They want to be guests, not tourists. This is the future of travel. Short-term rentals were best positioned to adapt, but we believe the whole hospitality market will follow suit. Minut facilitates this transition.” – says Nils Mattisson, Co-founder and CEO of Minut.
In a study across multiple European and US cities, Minut was shown to reduce neighborhood complaints by as much as 90%.
The company has established partnerships with multiple players in the rental industry, including Airbnb and Kasa Living who now recommends the solution to hosts.
“Airbnb is actively promoting responsible and sustainable tourism. Minut’s solution supports Hosts on Airbnb in their efforts to promote trust and safety in their homes and in communities” says Vladimir Beroun, Senior Public Policy Manager at Airbnb.
“Minut has played a vital role in helping us deliver an automated tech-enabled hospitality experience,” said Yvette Romero, Director of Strategic Product Initiatives at Kasa.
Minut has been growing by over 400% per year for several years. It now has tens of thousands of devices in operation in over 100 countries and offices in the US, UK, Sweden, France and Spain. The company keeps expanding and innovating and has just launched a security dispatch service in the UK, as well as adding new integrations with various property management solutions.
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